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George Alphonse Schaefer Jr. (born May 17, 1945) is the former CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, Ohio, a financial services company whose banking arm is Fifth Third Bank. In April 2007, Schaefer stepped down as CEO, deferring to Kevin T. Kabat, retaining his role as chairman of the board.
- Working-Class Roots
- Hiring Freeze at Nuclear Plant Leads to Banking Career
- Night-School MBA
- A Decade of Conservative Expansion
- Gambles on Old Kent Acquisition
- Looking For Growth Opportunities
Schaefer was born in 1946 in the working-class community of West Cincinnati. With five brothers and sisters he developed an extremely competitive personality, which he nurtured by playing high-school football. It was Schaefer's football coach who gave him an application to West Point during his senior year. Schaefer recalled that his coach had said...
Schaefer had no interest in remaining in the army beyond his West Point commitment; in 1971 he returned home to Cincinnati. He applied for an engineering job at the nearby Zimmer Nuclear Power plant, which was being built by Cincinnati Gas and Electric, but as a result of a delay in the issuing of the plant's license a hiring freeze was imposed. Wi...
To help advance his career, Schaefer went to night school, earning an MBA from Xavier University. After several years heading Midwest Payments, in 1979 Schaefer returned to the commercial-loan department; three years later he was named the department's senior vice president. In 1982, when he was just 36 years old, Schaefer had his first heart-bypas...
Schaefer was both ambitious and conservative as he expanded Fifth Third one safe step at a time. In his first two years he completed several small acquisitions, then in 1992 attempted a bolder move, making an unsolicited takeover bid for Star Banc Corporation, Fifth Third's chief competitor in Cincinnati. When the offer was rejected by Star's board...
Schaefer displayed a gambling side to his personality in November 2000 when—in the midst of an economic downturn—he agreed to pay $5.5 billion for Old Kent Financial Corporation of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The deal was more than twice the size of the CNB acquisition and was a key addition because it provided Fifth Third with direct entry into the lu...
After Old Kent, Schaefer continued to look for opportunities to spur Fifth Third's growth by way of acquisitions; yet he reverted to a more cautious approach, looking for deals which would merely provide toeholds in new markets. From there the bank could employ a technique that it had used successfully in the past: expanding outward and building ma...
Through a combination of cost-controls and acquisition, his vision would lead Fifth Third’s assets to hit more than $91B. He retired from the bank as President in 2006, stepped down as CEO in 2007 and left his role as Chairman in 2008—leaving the bank 13th in the U.S. in asset size.
Jan 16, 2023 · Its formidable former CEO, George Schaefer Jr., a West Point graduate and Vietnam War veteran, ran the bank starting in the 1990s until 2007. He created a hard-driving sales culture and had a reputation for frugality. One reporter described his office furniture as not so much antique as shopworn.
Now you can explore the bank’s rich heritage and legacy at the Fifth Third Bank Museum. Explore how Fifth Third—and the city—have grown over the decades through events and connections that not only shaped the bank but also helped shape the Cincinnati community.
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fifth Third Bancorp is a holding company that operates 12 banking affiliates, managed autonomously, with more than 495 banking locations in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan.
May 22, 2000 · GEORGE A. SCHAEFER, JR. has been President and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp/Fifth Third Bank since January 1990. He was hired in 1971 as a Management Trainee.
